PE Firms Gear Up to Get Better Terms From Non-Bank Lenders

Private-equity firms that buy midsize businesses appear poised to push for more borrower-friendly terms in the private credit market now that the worst of the pandemic looks to be over and the list of firms they can borrow from is expanding.

Half of the PE firms in a recent private-credit survey from Katten Muchin Rosenman said they expect to be more aggressive in talks with non-bank lenders versus the second half of 2020.

If that comes to pass, it would be a big shift from how it’s worked over the past year, when private-credit lenders were able to jack up ...